Criminals are shivering.. Yogi plans UPCOCA

1 years ago

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Lucknow: With the aim of curbing crime rate in Uttar Pradesh, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath is planning to bring into effect the Uttar Pradesh Control of Organised Crime Act or UPCOCA coupled with other strict measures similar to the lines of the law prevailing in Maharashtra popularly known as MCOCA.

Gujarat too has the same law which was passed by the legislature in the year 2003 and currently awaiting the final nod of President of India.

A senior police officer told TOI that chief minister Yogi Aditya Nath was intent on checking organised crime in the state and UPCOCA — first attempted by Mayawati when she was the CM — could be a major step in that direction.

According to a report in ToI, the Yogi government is planning to bring a bill in this regard and get it passed in both the Houses before seeking presidential nod for the same.

Previously, the government has made all its efforts towards bringing down the crime rate by dealing strictly with hardcore criminals, police sources said.

Himself coming from the hotbed of crime in Gorakhpur, the chief minister believes a nexus between the underworld and tainted politicians can be broken only with the help of a tough law like UPCOCA.

Earlier, Mayawati had also introduced UPCOCA in 2007 while she was the chief minister to make the state free from powerful mafia dons who had powerful links to politicians and elected representatives.

The BSP government had sent UPCOCA for presidential assent when UPA was in office, but the approval was denied. It was then observed that since Maharashtra and Gujarat had allegedly applied the law against the minorities in the two states, the UPA did not allow it in UP.

However, Mayawati chose not to pursue it as the Samajwadi Party, in opposition then, had vociferously opposed it, fearing its misuse. In 2008, Mayawati announced she was withdrawing the UPCOCA bill and she would not pursue it. After nearly a decade, UPCOCA is set to return. "Some more stringent provisions might be added to the Act," said a senior IPS officer.